Monday, October 25, 2010

Mojo Banana's Foster Jam

Good Monday morning Jammers! What did you get into over the weekend? Me, I got into some bananas, well a LOT of bananas and a few apples too. I lucked out and found all the bananas I needed, fully ripened, for half price (notice the black tape on them). They were perfect and ready to use! I wish the weather had cooperated a bit more, especially on Sunday. I made some spicy apple butter and was really feeling into the fall season EXCEPT that it was 87 degrees outside! It was too hot in the kitchen with the windows open so I had to crank up the AC to try to cool off. We are supposed to be unseasonably warm the rest of this week, too. Boo! My son hates it when he goes trick-or-treating and ends up sweating buckets with a mask and costume on. Hopefully it will cool-off for him. For his first few years he actually thought that folks decorated their houses and handed out candy because it was his birthday…he finally caught on that he shared his birthday WITH a holiday when he was 5 or 6 years old. Then for a few years he would tell each person that opened their door that it was his birthday and he would usually get extra treats. He’s stopped all that now and I wonder when he will stop trick-or-treating all together, he will be 12 this year and still wants to go with his friends. The funny thing is, he never cared for much of the candy, eating very little of it. It usually sits in a big bowl on top of the fridge till around Christmas then we throw it out when the stockings get emptied into the same bowl. He’s never been much of a sweets eater. I guess we are lucky that we don’t have a huge dentist bill! Our city council is going to vote on Tuesday night as to whether to change trick-or-treating to Saturday night so there won’t be a conflict with folks attending church on Sunday night. Most folks in town are livid about this for a few reasons. What happened to separation of church and state? It’s not been changed before when it was on a Sunday, so why now? Saturday is a HUGE college football game downtown at the stadium, Florida vs. Georgia, and the tailgating has already begun (7 days in advance, RV’s are already pouring in). I really don’t want kids out trick-or-treating on one of the biggest nights for DUI’s around here! Some folks are concerned that only some kids will go out on Saturday night and others will still go out on Sunday so they will have to deal with 2 nights of it, while others say some kids will choose to go out both night. Personally, I don’t think it should be changed. Halloween in Oct. 31, period! I have been surprised at how many other cities, counties and states change which day it is observed on every year. Our niece in Ohio sent us this snip “Here in Columbus they only allow Trick or Treating Mon-Thurs so if Halloween is on Fri-Sun it gets moved! This year Halloween is on Sun but trick or treating is on Thurs. Last year Halloween was a Saturday and trick or treating was on Thurs.” How bizarre is that?!?

So, for the first banana recipe that I did on Saturday morning I decided to re-do my Banana Rum Jam and make it a Bananas Foster Jam. The recipe was so close and Bananas Foster is my all time favorite dessert, I had to adapt it and go for it. It came out DIVINE! I was instantly transported to Royal Street, a block off Bourbon Street in New Orleans, the home of the world famous Brennan’s Restaurant, where Bananas Foster was created in 1951. I’ve ordered it in many places but none is as good as Brennan’s, where it is prepared and served tableside. The only thing missing in this jam would be the vanilla ice cream it is traditionally served over but you could always heat a bit of it in the microwave for a few seconds and then pour it over a scoop of your favorite vanilla bean ice cream. Now, something else I love to do when I am in New Orleans is to tour all the cemeteries. I always stop and see the tomb of the Voudou Queen, Marie Laveau, and then I will head to her namesake tourist shop on Bourbon St. where you can pick up all kind of mojo trinkets and souvenirs. In honor of my old New Orleans traditions I am naming this one my Mojo Banana’s Foster Jam. When I made it before, as just the Banana Rum Jam, I mentioned that bananas are associated with fertility, potency and prosperity and are most often associated with a masculine energy as opposed to feminine energy. A good internet search will show that women in Hawaii were once forbidden to eat bananas, by law, go figure. I substituted some of the sugar with brown sugar and added a bit of cinnamon. The cinnamon is for power and spirituality and any kind of sugar is for love, of course! Remember to keep your thoughts and intentions clear in your mind when you are crafting your delicacies. A little mood music playing in the background and a candle or two lit near your workspace can make for a great Jammin session and some tasty treats.

Preheat canner and prepare jars and lids. In an 8 qt pan combine the bananas, lemon juice and Fruit Fresh. Stir in the sugars, butter and cinnamon. Over med-low heat, stirring constantly, heat the mixture until the sugars are completely dissolved. Increase the heat to med-high and bring to full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Stir in the entire contents of the pectin pouch. Return the mixture to a full rolling boil and boil, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.

Remove pan from the heat. Skim off any foam. Stir in the rum extract. To prevent the jam from separating in the jars, allow the jam to cool 5 minutes before filling the jars. Gently stir the jam every minute, or so, to distribute the fruit. Ladle the jam into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean damp cloth and add the lids and rings, turning the rings until just finger-tight. Place the jars in the preheated canner and bring canner to a full rolling boil. Process jars for 10 minutes (adjusting according to your altitude, if necessary) then remove canner from heat. Let canner sit for 5 minutes, then, carefully remove hot jars from water with a jar lifter and place them on a towel on the counter and leave them undisturbed for 24 hours. Check the seals before storing and use within 12 months.

Makes about 7 half pint jars.

This jam is beautiful and oh-so-yummy-licious! The cinnamon really adds a richness that it was missing before and it tastes just like the dessert I remember so fondly. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am. I don’t know if I will be gifting any of this one…there may not be any left when I am finished!

Stay tuned, I also made a Banana Nut Bread Butter from a recipe I found on the Sure Jell (the pectin) website. I will have it up at the end of the week. I made a yummy loaf of banana nut bread with my leftover ingredients and hope to have it posted to the other blog mid-week, or so. Yesterday I was inspired by a fellow blogger, Tigress, to modify my apple butter to include ground ancho chilis and boy did she hit the nail on the head! I can’t wait to serve this on over a slow roasted pork roast. It was a huge hit with my honey, who has been requesting a spicy or savory type jam. Lots to write about so keep checking back, on both blogs!

I have also created a store over at Amazon. I have recommendations for some great canning books (I have a great friend that co-wrote one of them, check it out) and also some canning supplies. The link to the store is over on the right side of this blog. The holiday’s are coming up…these are some great gift ideas for new or seasoned canners alike. Many of my recipes are in these books or are based on recipes in them.

I'm so glad to see someone else make banana jam! I leave the 'Foster' out of mine and make my husband a peanut butter and banana jam sandwich every work day for breakfast. It really is one of my favorite jams I've made...and more versatile than one would think.

Welcome

Come on over and sit by my hearth, the heart of my home. Here I take pride in nurishing those I love and sharing my knowledge and bounty. This is my main blog project but you can find my secondary page, for all other recipes and non-jam related tips at http://frommyhearthtoyourhearth.blogspot.com/

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My Amazon Store for Canning Books and Supplies

Here is a link to the canning books and supplies that I HIGHLY recommend. Lots of these books have been my inspirations for the receipes you see here and where I have learned all my tips and techniques.
http://astore.amazon.com/jamfrothehea-20

About Me

I share my hearth with my beautiful and inspiring soulmate, my pre-teen son, 7 feline kids, a bearded dragon, a sugar glider and a green cheeked conure. Nurturing is in my soul, thanks in part to my grandmother (aka MaBert) and her mother, my Grannie, who canned everything they could get their hands on...I intend to keep the tradition going. We are a family of tree huggers and dirt worshippers who love to spend as much time as possible on the beach having fun and romping in the waves. I weave my personal magick into everything I create in my kitchen...it's my passion!